Moving On
by ProLazy
Summary: Prompt: Dean and Castiel are both single fathers who love their daughters more than anything in the wold. Castiel is struggling to get by, but things start to change for him and Claire when they visit Dean's toy store. (Mentions of Past DV).


Dean was sweeping the floor in preparation for closing up shop for the day. He took great pride in his little toy store. He had a few employees but unlike some business owners Dean thrived in getting involved in every aspect of it. He found that the most rewarding element of owning a toy store was seeing the smiles on children's faces when they got something new to love and play with.

Dean was treated to his favourite smile of all when the doorbell jingled and his eight year old daughter Emma bounded in to the store.

"Daddy!"

Dean quickly put the broom down so that Emma could run into his arms. He smiles as he spun his daughter around; Emma giggled with delight.

"Hey, sweetie pie" Dean said as he brought her up to kiss her forehead and the placed her feet safely back on the ground. "Did you and Jess have fun today?"

Jess was working as a nannie whilst she finished her nursing course, and she also just happened to be Dean's sister-in-law. It was summer vacation and she took care of Emma when Dean was at work.

"Yeah, we went to the aquarium!" Emma replied.

"She was good as gold as always" Jess said with a smile as she admired the doting father and his giddy daughter.

"Thanks, Jess" Dean said as Emma busied herself investigating all the new toys in the window.

"It's my pleasure!" She assured him brightly. "I better get back to your brother."

"Okay, tell the B-I-T-C-H I said hi" Dean said.

"I know how to spell, daddy" Emma said bluntly. "You called Uncle Sam a bitch."

"Pay no attention to him, honey" Jess said sternly but she shook her head at Dean fondly. "I'll be sure to pass on the message. Bye, Emma!"

"Bye!"

After Jess was gone Dean picked up the broom and started to sweep up again.

"Five more minutes, Em, and then we can go home have some of my homemade burgers for dinner."

"Sounds awesome, daddy!"

Dean chucked to himself as he returned to work.

A few minutes passed before the bell rang again. Dean looked up and saw a girl around Emma's age coming through the door along with a nervous looking man.

"Claire, I think the store is about to close" the man warned. "I'm sorry, angel, we'll have to come back tomorrow."

"It's no trouble" Dean reassured the man with a smile. "Do you know what you're looking for?"

"No" the little girl, Claire, replied. "It's my ninth birthday today so my dad said I can pick something for my present!"

"Oh, well we certainly can't turn you away on your birthday" Dean said seriously.

"I can show you some things you might like!" Emma said enthusiastically as she hopped down from the window display.

"Yes please" Claire replied with a grin.

The two girls hurried off down one of the aisles chattering away to each other leaving Dean with the still slightly worried looking father.

"Don't feel guilty, man" Dean assured him with a soft smile. "This is what I've always been prepared to do."

"Thank you" the man said meekly. "I did want to come earlier in the week but Claire can be quite picky in her tastes so I thought it would be nice for her to choose something instead of me getting it wrong."

"Good call" Dean chuckled. "Emma was not impressed with the stuffed giraffe I got her at Christmas; she was going through a moose phase."

The man offered a small smile. "So that was your little girl, Emma?"

"Yep, and I'm Dean" he said offering his hand for the man to shake.

"Castiel" the man replied as he accepted Dean's gesture.

They heard giggling as their daughters returned. Claire was struggling to carry a giant stuffed cat which sported a grumpy expression. Both girls had wooden swords tied to their sides too.

"Please can I get these, dad?" Claire huffed as she put the stuffed animal down.

Castiel bobbed down to check the price tag. Dean noticed the way his posture tightened and his expression suddenly became even guiltier.

"I...I'm not sure, Angel" he replied as he took out his wallet.

Dean watched him nervously thumb through the little cash he had. Being quick to realise the problem Dean the business man was left behind and Dean the father stepped forward.

"Yah know, I've actually been meaning to put a lot of the stuff back there on sale since I need to get rid of it for new stock. So, there's actually a fifty percent discount."

"Is that okay, dad?" Claire asked.

"That's fine" Castiel said with a smile as he ran a hand down his daughter's long blond hair.

"Awesome" Dean said. "Checkout it right this way."

"You're really good at using the sword, Claire" Emma said as she watched the older girl take a few jabs into the air. "You'll have to come back tomorrow so that you can teach me!"

"Yeah, I'd like to" Claire said with a smile. "Can I, dad?"

"If it's okay with Dean" Castiel said.

"You guys are welcome here any time" Dean said with a grin.

* * *

Claire and Castiel returned the following afternoon as promised. Emma had been very excited as she had chosen to spend her day helping her father in the shop and waiting for her new friend to turn up.

"Hi, Claire!"

"Hey, Emma" the older girl said with a wide grin.

"Claire, honey" Castiel said lowly as he took his daughter to the side for a moment and kneeled down to her level. "We can only stay a little while, okay? We…we can't afford to buy anything else so it would be rude to stay too long."

"I know, dad" Claire replied as she hugged her father before hurrying off down the aisle again with Emma.

"You guys can stay as long as you want" Dean implored after over hearing Castiel. "They seem happy, and Emma has always wished she had an older sister. She doesn't have much of a female influence in her life."

"Her mother isn't around?" Castiel asked but then immediately flinched. "I-I'm sorry that was very intrusive-"

"Nah, it's okay" Dean said. "I like an opportunity to badmouth my whore of an ex" he said and Castiel's eyes widened with surprise. "I'd never say that to Emma of course."

"Of course not" Castiel said. "Is she really that bad?"

"She'd been sleeping around behind my back for years before we had Emma" Dean explained. "I was so scared when I found out that Em wouldn't even be mine."

"Well I know that she certainly is" Castiel replied. "She looks a lot like you."

"Yeah, everyone thinks so" Dean said with a proud smile. "I have no idea where Lydia is now. Last I knew she'd decided to go on tour with some low rate rock band. She hasn't contacted us in years; never even sent Emma a birthday card. She left our two mouth old daughter behind for a life of drugs and alcohol."

"I'm so sorry" Castiel said quietly.

"Well as much as I want to hate her I can't; she gave me my baby girl and I love Emma more than anything in the world."

"Obviously" Castiel said with a knowing smile. "I'm in a similar position. Claire's mother isn't around either. She's…She's in prison."

"Whoa…I'm sorry."

"I'm not" Castiel responded. "April turned out to be dangerous; she wasn't who I thought she was. She…she didn't treat me right and I have the scars to prove it. There was no way I could have someone like that around my daughter so I went to the police just after Claire was born."

The implication of what Castiel was saying cut Dean deep and he found he had never had such an urge to hug someone who was near enough a stranger before.

"It must have been tough trying to get out of a situation like that. That was really brave of you, man."

"You think so?" Castiel asked as he wiped the back of his hand across his eyes. "I sometimes wonder if it was selfish, taking Claire's mother away from her like that."

"No, not at all" Dean said firmly. "What if April had ended up treating Claire the same way? You did the right thing for sure. No one should be able to get away with that."

"I know" Castiel sniffed. "I'm sorry, that all got a bit heavy didn't it?" he said with a slightly embarrassed laugh.

"Well, we've come off better in the end" Dean pointed out with a soft smile. "How about we find out what our little bundles of joy are up to?"

All they had to do was follow the giggling and they found Emma and Claire sat cross-legged on the floor setting up a game of Operation.

"Do you two want to play?" Emma asked.

"Sure" Dean said.

"We have to savour the time you don't find it uncool to hang out with your dads" Castiel quipped.

"Soon you'll make us drop you off at school from around the corner" Dean added.

The two fathers shared a chuckle before they settled themselves down on the ground with their daughters to play game that they knew they really had no chance in winning.

* * *

Castiel and Claire had been returning to the toy store almost every day for two whole weeks. Dean had even said he was happy to watch Claire on days Castiel had to work; there was no better place of entertainment for two young children after all. However, Castiel was starting to feel guilty and he did not want Dean to think he was just taking advantage of the situation. He was just so happy that Claire and Emma got on well as Claire was more of a lone ranger at school.

Castiel woke up one morning when the springs of his foldout bed started creaking as a little weight started bounding up and down on it. He could not be angry though, he could only smile at seeing his daughter so happy.

"C'mon, dad! We have to get to the store. Emma and I are building a Lego fort and it's going to a hundred feet tall!"

"Wow, that's quite a challenge" Castiel chuckled. "But…maybe we should take a break from the store today, Angel. Dean is very busy and it's impolite for us to keep going back and not buying anything."

"Well how about Emma comes over here then?" Claire suggested as she snuggled under the duvet with her father.

Castiel sighed as he looked around their cramped apartment; so small that he had given the only bedroom to Claire whilst he slept on a futon in the living room.

He wished that he could afford to give Claire somewhere better, but April had forced to leave any studying he had planned behind and all he could find with his qualifications was as a sales associate at the _Gas 'n' Sip_. Even though he desperately wanted to go back to college he had no one to look after Claire on a regular basis and there was no way he would leave his baby girl with a stranger.

"Dad…you don't have to be embarrassed" Claire said seriously. "We don't need anything else, and we don't care what people think. We have each other and that's enough."

"You're too smart for your age" Castiel claimed with a sad smile; a child should never have to say such things to their parent. He pulled Claire into a tight hug and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "You're right, of course. Tell you what. How about we invite Emma to the park with us?"

"Yeah!" Claire exclaimed happily. "That would be great. Thanks, Dad. I love you."

"I love you too, Claire-Bear. So much."

Claire stuck her tongue out. "Don't call me that!"

"Why not!? You are my cuddly Claire-Bear" Castiel teased as he squeezed her tight.

Claire giggled wildly as Castiel started to blow raspberries against her cheek.

Castiel supposed this place was not so bad.

* * *

Dean had happily agreed to let Emma go to the park with Claire and Castiel, and Emma herself had been overjoyed.

Castiel had sat on a nearby bench watching contentedly as the girls scaled the slide (their castle) and guarded it with their swords (two sticks they had found). As far as Castiel could tell Emma was a warrior princess and Claire was her noble knight.

Once the girls had tired themselves out Castiel suggested that they go and get something to eat.

"Can we have hotdogs, dad?" Claire asked as they came across a cart.

"Sure" Castiel said as he pulled out his wallet.

"My daddy gave me my allowance early so I could get something" Emma said as she pulled some crumpled dollars out of her pocket.

"It's okay, honey" Castiel assured her. "I'll get you one. You save that up for something big" he added with a smile.

"Okay" Emma replied quietly. "Thank you Claire's daddy."

"You can call me Cas" he chuckled.

"Alright!"

Castiel bought two hotdogs and handed one to each of the girls.

"You're not having one, dad?" Claire asked with a slight frown.

"I'm not hungry" he insisted with a small smile.

Claire still seemed dubious but she and Emma were soon bounding off together again.

* * *

The following day Castiel was at work. It was hard for him to pick up shifts during summer break as he needed to find someone to watch Claire. Usually the woman who lived across the street, Jody, would volunteer, but that day Dean had said he would watch the girls at the shop.

When Castiel dropped Claire off Emma and Dean seemed to be in the middle of a tea party with several stuffed animals.

"Hey, guys" Dean said with a smile.

"Claire! I saved you a spot between Hippo and Monkey" Emma said.

"Okay" Claire grinned before turning to her father. "I'll see you tonight, dad."

"Bye, angel" Castiel said as he knelt down to hug her tightly.

"Dad!" Claire exclaimed. "I told you that you need a new work shirt" she said as she put her finger through the hole on the shoulder.

"I keep forgetting" Castiel sighed. "I'll fix it up later."

"Alright" Claire mumbled. "Bring me a burrito for dinner?"

"Okay" Castiel said with a soft smile. He kissed Claire's forehead before standing up again. "Thank you so much for this, Dean."

"Anytime time, man" Dean replied sincerely. "Have fun" he teased.

"Thanks" Castiel scoffed.

He left and Claire went to join Dean and Emma on the floor.

"We still have a half hour 'til opening time so I'll go get you a cup!" Emma explained before hurrying off down the aisles.

Dean looked over at Claire and saw that she did not seem very happy.

"What's up, kiddo?"

"He thinks that I don't notice" Claire said quietly. "He always says he's not hungry, or that he isn't cold so I can have all the sheets. He never buys himself new clothes; just sews up the ones he has. Does he think I'm stupid?"

"No, of course not" Dean said as he shuffled around to sit next to Claire although it was hard to hide his own sadness. He had guessed Castiel had some financial issues but he had no idea it was that bad. "He's your dad and he loves you more than anything. He just wants to protect you; he doesn't want you to be sad."

"I don't get sad because we don't have money. I get sad because my dad is sad."

"I'm sorry, sweetie" Dean said as he placed a tentative hand on Claire's back. "I know it's hard, but just remember that _you_ make your dad _so_ happy; I can see that."

"I know; we both like it just being the two of us, but I wish that he had a grown up friend to talk to as well" Claire said. "Will you be his friend?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure" Dean said with a soft smile. "I'm busy running this place and taking care of Emma so I don't have many friends myself. I like your dad."

"He likes you too" Claire stated. "I can tell."

"Good" Dean chuckled.

Emma returned and Dean left the two girls to it as he went to get ready to open up. There was a sense of sorrow gnawing at him though as he thought about what Claire had said.

He needed to find some way to help.

* * *

Emma and Claire had moved into the breakroom as the store had opened for the day so Dean was busy working.

"I was thinking that we could finish our Lego fort tomorrow" Emma said as they were currently in the middle of sword practise.

"I'll see if my dad will let me" Claire replied. "I think he feels bad that we come over so much."

"But my daddy doesn't mind!" Emma exclaimed. "There must be a way to make your daddy feel better."

Claire thought deeply for a moment.

"Well…your dad did say that he was friends with my dad…what if we made them _boy_ friends?"

"Yeah!" Emma squealed. "If they were in love then you could come over every day and our daddy's wouldn't get lonely."

"Exactly!" Claire said excitedly. "But how do we get them to be boyfriends?"

"Hmm…Jess told me that when my Uncle Sam first asked her on a date he made dinner for her, and now they're married!"

"Do you know how to cook?" Claire asked.

"No, but neither does my Uncle Sam" Emma shrugged. "It still worked for him."

"We'll think of something" Claire assured her.

* * *

Dean had just finished counting the day's takings when Castiel arrived back at the store. Dean smiled at him but the things that Claire had said earlier were still niggling at the back of his mind.

"Hello, Dean. How are the girls?"

"They've been kind of quiet actually" Dean said. "I've been checking up on them but I think they might be up to something" he said with a smirk.

"Oh, then we best be on guard" Castiel chuckled. "Claire called me earlier and asked if I would bring dinner for everyone" he said as he held up the plastic bag he was carrying; inside was a bunch of burritos and boxes of nachos. "I know it's not gourmet but I supposed the least I could do was steal you dinner."

Dean laughed at that. "Are you kidding me? Grease is my favourite food category; I love burritos."

"Good to know" Castiel smiled. "Should we go and see our little schemers?"

"I think that would be wise."

The two men headed to the back of the store to find a piece of paper stuck on the breakroom door with _'do not enter'_ scribbled on it. They could hear Claire and Emma whispering on the other side.

Dean and Castiel shared an amused first.

"After you" Castiel quipped.

"Do you think we need armour?" Dean jibed.

The door suddenly opened.

"Come in!" Emma said as she stepped out the way.

"What have you guys…?" Dean started to ask but he was taken aback by what they found.

The room was being illuminated by a light projector Dean sold that made stars appear to move around on the ceiling. The table was covered with a cloth and plastic plates and cutlery from a pretend kitchen set and in the middle of the table was a bunch of fake flowers.

"You two sit here!" Emma instructed as she and Claire each pulled out a chair at the table. "Me and Claire will go eat in the front."

"What's all this about?" Dean asked suspiciously, but he was smiling lightly.

"Nothing" Claire tried to shrug it off as she grabbed the food from her dad and started to set it on the table. "We just wanted to do something nice for you for letting us play together."

"Really?" Castiel asked sceptically. "Well, I suppose we can't waste it since you did go to all this effort" he said as he went to take a seat.

"That's right" Dean affirmed as he sat on the other chair.

"One more thing" Emma said as she turned to a phone that had been set up with some speakers.

"Hey, is that mine?" Dean asked. "When did you..?"

"It doesn't matter, daddy" Emma stressed as she scrolled through the albums. "Hmm, this is the music from his favourite movie" she told Claire as she pressed play.

"Alright, let's go" Claire whispered and the two girls hurried out of the room.

As soon as they were gone Dean and Castiel started laughing.

"They're so sweet" Castiel said.

"They're so mischievous" Dean retorted. "I didn't know Em could be so sneaky."

"Well, we all have hidden depths" Castiel said. "Like I would never have guessed your favourite movie was _Dirty Dancing_ " he chuckled.

"Aww, man" Dean groaned as he buried his face in his hands to hide his embarrassment; _Time of My Life_ was indeed playing lowly in the background. "I love chick flicks, okay? But if anyone ever asks my favourite movie is _True Grit_."

"It's not a bad thing" Castiel laughed. "Besides, you're wrong; _Moulin Rouge_ is the best romance movie."

"Are you kidding? No one can beat Swayze. I mean there's also _Ghost_ -"

"I've never seen that."

Dean looked affronted. "Then you're coming over sometime to watch it."

"I would like that" Castiel said with a soft smile. "I'll bring more nachos" he quipped.

"Wow, these kids have really tricked us" Dean said. "We're already planning a second date" he teased.

"This is a date?" Castiel chuckled.

"W…oh, n-no" Dean stammered. "I-I was just-"

"I know" Castiel quickly assured him. "It's okay; I wouldn't know the difference anyway. I haven't really dated since…well, you know."

"Me either" Dean confessed. "Not like a serious relationship anyway."

"It's hard to find someone you can trust again, right?" Castiel said a little sadly.

"Yeah" Dean nodded with understanding. "It's not just about me; it's about finding someone who is willing to be there for Emma; she's the most important person to me."

"Same with Claire" Castiel said before taking a bite of his burrito. "I've never left her with anyone but the lady across the street …until I met you."

"Yeah, I've only let Emma be with Sam or Jess" Dean realised. "I guess these past few weeks have been a big step for both of us."

"Yeah" Castiel smiled. "It's been really nice having someone else to talk to."

Dean nodded lightly in agreement and then recalled the conversation he had had with Claire earlier. She and Castiel were round here so much, and he would like to get closer to Cas, so there was one option that could help the situation.

"Cas, I...I want to propose something to you."

"Dean, we haven't even established if this is our first date yet" Castiel joked.

"You know that's not what I meant" Dean laughed. "I want to offer you a job."

Castiel looked taken aback. "Really?"

"Yeah, I could always use more hands and I can definitely pay you more than minimum wage _._ I-I don't want you to think I'm doing this for the wrong reasons, though; It would just make sense. Claire and Emma love hanging out together so much and I'm really enjoying getting to know you."

"I would love to work here!" Castiel interrupted. "I know when people are treating me like a charity case, Dean, and I know that you're not like that. I mean it's not hard to see that I'm struggling, and anything that means I can give Claire a better life is a good choice for me."

Dean sighed with relief. "I would be happy to have you on board; you have customer service experience and you're obviously great with kids."

"Well who wouldn't want to work at a toy store?" Castiel asked. "The girls will be over the moon."

"I cannot believe they planned all this" Dean said with an amused shake of his head.

"We've been parent trapped" Castiel agreed. "Claire has been getting the better of me since she learned how to cheat in Monopoly."

"Oh, I love Monopoly; I sell like ten different versions…and now I just realise how geeky that sounds."

"You have passion for your field" Castiel rationalised with a smile. "We should play some time."

"We could make that date number three" Dean proposed sheepishly.

"You're on" Castiel grinned.

* * *

Outside of the room Claire and Emma had their ears pressed to the door. They hugged each other excitedly when they learned Castiel was going to be working there.

"My dad will be able to look after himself now as well as me" Claire said with a smile.

"We can all look after each other now!" Emma squealed. "We can play together all the time, and our dads are having fun."

"We're gunna be sisters" Claire said determinedly.

"I feel like we already are" Emma said.

Claire nodded as they hugged each other tightly again and jumped around.

For those two girls, and their fathers, things were going to get better.


End file.
